Introduction When waves of pollution and smog washed over South Korea from China, the city of Seoul started building up instead of out. KEA (Korea Energy Agency) started funding for Jisang-Eseo, a tower that would span city blocks and rise high above the waves of smog, built from a material that would filter out the pollution and keep its inhabitants safe. But years after the rest of Seoul is abandoned for Jisang Tower, the filtration KEA promised is starting to fail, and the lowest floors of the tower are becoming covered with smog from the outside. The city tower continues to try and build upwards, but the lost floors cause the ones above it to become increasingly crowded. The Megalithic city cannot build up forever.
Government
Government Strength: The government is a collection of mega corporations that co funded the building in the first place. In a tower that focuses on hyper consumerism and product placement, the government dissolves into a large industry of sorts. The previous Korean public government has faded and become heavily influenced by corporations during these growing concerns about space and pollution. It keeps a solid grip on the police and maintain social services such as the ever important recycling and space management. Unfortunately they don’t have the strongest grip over private smaller corporations or religious sects, often working as competition. As a whole it works as a sort of complex web of corporate industries working together, each taking their stake of resources and business in the tower. This works due to the fact that they can profit off almost anything from labor laws to green energy, using tax write offs from other companies and byproducts from pollution cleaning as profit. Laws are created from a board of conglomerates working together to keep best interests in mind for the collective population.
Rule of Law: Rule of law is very high in Jisang. Law enforcement maintain strict laws in order to keep the tower functional and stable. Patrols have become more common now that more people are forced to move upwards in order to crack down on protests and other conflicts the more cramped space has caused. They also are strict to enforce population laws, going out on routine patrols and listening for tips on families hiding extra children or for homosexual couples.
Social services: Social services are very high; they have to be in such a contained society. Recycling is one of the most important aspects of life in Jisang, from food, waste, water, broken machines or clothing to even bodies. Nothing is left unused. Clean water, heat and standard rations are provided for all citizens (although better food or goods must be purchased or bartered). Wifi is free as well (although access to certain information is unknowingly restricted). Libraries are few but regularly maintained and open to the public (again censored however). As long as one is a law abiding citizen, their needs, if not necessarily their comfort, are provided for.
Economics
Economic strength: Economy within the bubble society of Jisang Tower is almost a hoax. It’s very fragile because of all the wealth and power being held by the government and private companies, so if something were to fail, the economy of the tower could break apart. But these powerful groups feed off each other with their different roles in running the society, so it keeps everything in a rickety balance. The corporate run economy pays wages in currency and offers luxury goods, however most of the buying and selling occurs in a separate, bartering system in the lower levels. Because most necessities are provided by the government, “money” is only used to buy luxury goods that are often obscenely expensive. Anything else a person could want is brought in by scavengers who scour the condemned levels for anything left behind such as textiles, books, metals and other goods. These are then bartered for other goods amongst the citizens of the lower levels and occasionally the upper class as well.
Wealth distribution: With most of the power held by corporations (and in turn the government), money is almost entirely held by the higher ups. Wealth distribution is very low within the tower, and basic needs are provided to citizens by the government. The small amount of money citizens make from jobs is saved up for larger purchases, or more luxurious items (like rarer foods). Trade is usually centered around exchanging items, but for homebrewed tech (like commissions and experiments) and items in better condition, money is usually preferred. Civilians are paid a small wage for their occupation (ex farming), but the government justifies the low amount as being an allowance more than a living wage, because necessities are rationed out to everyone. Higher level, better paying jobs include scientists, server technicians, and corporate employees. These jobs usually hire from a pool of upper/middle class civilians, but if a low class citizen displays adept abilities, they can be recruited into better programs. They usually lose contact with their family because of the move to a physical higher level of the tower.
Agriculture and trade: Agriculture within the tower is makeshift at best. Because of the limited space and overpopulation, farming has been designed to grow on the walls of Jisang tower in soil tracks. This causes an overgrown look intermingled with technology to the levels because the plants spread very easily from their tracks to the surrounding buildings. Citizens don’t want to cut them back too much to risk losing precious food resources. Everything is recycled within the tower, including food scraps and waste to make fertilizer for the plants, and food for bioengineered worms that help to feed and pollinate the plants underneath the surface. Because space in the tower is limited, they do not raise animals for consumption. Instead, they are vegan, so the farmers grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, which provide all the nutrients that the citizens need. Trade is also influenced by this recycling culture, with a large emphasis on fixing and combining old and broken tech to make it new again instead of throwing things away. This leads to building materials, equipment, clothes, etc. to really be a makeup of old scraps. While in some cases it might not be immediately evident (for example, a more expensive piece of clothing would use recycled thread from other clothes to make new cloth), nothing is ever wasted. Because basic needs are rationed and provided, citizens barter different items to get things they want, an old coat for camera pieces, a power drill for a motherboard; to them, “nothing is trash and everything is treasure”. There are only so many goods and resources for trade in such a megalithic structure. In this way, many of the things that are traded are created or altered. Very quickly a society of artists and engineers emerged, utilitizing everything the could to make what someone else may deem valuable. Automated watering systems, mechanically and artistically customized filtration masks, Micro rocket mopeds, and extremely reused computers are all common place.
Social
Race: The people of Jisang are comprised of a several different races, due to the major migration of people across the world, which was a result of world-wide pollution. These races are primarily Asian (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, and more), but there is also a sprinkling of Western people from countries in North and South America. Equality amongst the races is good enough, though the people of Western descent are seen more as outsiders than those of Asian decent. Racism is still present but people are more inclined to keep their opinions behind close doors and instead take their grief out on people, especially if they are moving into their space. The culture as a whole is a large melting pot of people as Korea slowly became a major technological spearhead as it neared the end of the century and businesses flocked to it from all over the world.
Class: There are basic three classes structure in Jisang: lower class, middle class, and upper class. The poor are forced to live amongst the lower floors of Jisang Tower and are more susceptible to illness because of the pollution on the ground. This class is also the main consumers of air filters and breathing masks. These masks usually lead to a wild variety of styles and color as they accept the use of the mask and try to tailor them to make a statement. The middle class lives amongst the middle tier of the tower, usually the craftsmen and women have workshops and small storefronts here. All of the main shopping districts are set in the middle tower. As expected, the rich live on the top floors, with much larger living spaces. Issues have risen, though, as the classes are being forced to move higher up the tower to avoid pollution. This is causing strife amongst the classes. Those born into the lower classes often find it difficult to find safe, well-paying jobs making it difficult to move upwards both financially and literally. In this way many people are known to take space by gambling, slander, or even force. The militias that exist to protect and serve the section that they are assigned to are in place to keep this from happening, and ultimately let those on lower floors, stay on lower floors. However they are known to be often swayed by money.
Gender: Women are expected and mandated to have children in order to keep Jisang’s population stable. Their main role in society. Contraceptives are provided by the government to keep the population under control. With a female deity, the role of a woman as a caretaker is idealized and further mandated. If the Mother represents the ideal being, and more specifically the ideal female, then women are further pressured into striving to meet child requirements (1-2 children) and providing for her family. Other jobs aren’t necessarily restricted by gender (for example: farming, construction, tech building, clothes making), but women are encouraged to stick with “safer” occupations, where they aren’t at risk of getting hurt. Pollution is thought to be especially harmful to women and can render her barren.
Sexual Orientation: In Jisang, population control is very important, and so, same-sex relationships are considered taboo because they are not compatible with the need for specific population constraints. Using AFTER, and natural medical causes of death, there are convenient methods of trimming out older populations, but young couples are encouraged to only have about one to two children. Arranged marriages are common place, not explicitly for eugenics (like smarter, faster, stronger etc kids), but some families try to pair to encourage smarter kids, with the opportunity to move up in society.. Homosexuality is punishable by law and often with violence.
Cultural
Military: Military, as far as the citizens are aware, extends to only the police that keep the peace within the tower. They regulate ration distribution, keep citizens out of polluted sectors, settle disputes, stifle protests, etc. They’re a quiet but strict presence, and the citizens know not to cross them, or risk severe repercussions. If a criminal is found out, the military takes care of them and they simply disappear. The exact punishment is unknown, but that fuels the fear. Ultimately though, the military has the government/corporations interests at heart, and seek to prevent any disruption to the balance of the tower’s power dynamic. The isolation of Jisang Tower in the clouds of pollution covering South Korea prevent a majority of physical contact with outside cities and countries. Military parties are sent on missions/outings outside the tower to facilitate trade and supplies that can’t be produced within the tower. They send out and bring back new technology to be used by the companies within the tower to keep innovation moving, and to try and solve the issue of pollution seeping into the tower.
Religion: South Korea, before Jisang Tower, featured a mix of religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, and other native sects. When the tower was formed, the lines separating different core values of each religion faded and began to blend together. Then, Mantra Corporation introduced Eomeoni, the Mother, and further brought the religious blend together. The Mother as a deity has three core roles: the Mother brings life, the Mother provides, and the Mother is with you when you pass. The Mother is female in nature (and spirit?), but is ultimately a digital god with no gender, opening her up to fulfill different personal needs when seeking religion. Her introduction coincided with the launch of Mantra Corp’s server AFTER, where one can join the afterlife and be reunited with the Mother. It works by uploading the citizen’s soul to the server, where they are then free from the burdens of life on Earth. Within AFTER, the uploaded civilian works directly with the Mother, like living in a monastery or nunnery. Their family is then sent monthly wages for the person’s devotion, along with occasional message from their loved one. AFTER is open to anyone and is seen as a way to provide for one’s family, guaranteeing they’ll have some consistent income (and the opportunity for a better life), but advertising is primarily directed towards individuals over 50, who have a harder time working jobs. Some couples choose to go up in pairs, as a romantic and poetic final moment together.
The mysterious and ethereal sanctuary of the afterlife concept hides the real purpose of AFTER; civilians think they’re going to utopia, but really their uploaded “souls”, or brainpower/subconscious, are used in a giant supercomputer. The servers function in a “data-mining” plan, helping to make money and power for the tower. It also acts as a memory bank that provides data on human minds that is sold by _ Corp to outside countries that is used for science and technology development. Every few years, the AFTER servers change the variable it’s testing within its souls in order to constantly provide new data and not become obsolete. The server itself is becoming outdated; its original inventors have since passed and the knowledge of how to upgrade AFTER has been lost. Mantra Corp is wary of trying experimental upgrades for fear of losing their entire project. Because of the server’s age, the way it catalogues civilians has its shortcomings; it uses male/female, married/single, age, and race, along with some smaller categories (like IQ and appearance), but doesn’t work with labels outside the gender binary and heterosexuality. This is part of the reason why the government is strict on gender restrictions and homosexuality. Even though the motives of Mantra Corp are questionable at best, citizens haven’t begun questioning it in mass. There are whispers of the possible conspiracies and dark purpose of the server, but many are blinded by its promise, and its relative newness keeps it in mystery. Some small groups have begun trying to hack into the server to see the afterlife for themselves, without a contract.
Tech: Technology within Jisang tower is a mix between stark and sleek new innovations from private companies, and homebrew tech built in the homes of citizens out of any bits they can get their hands on. Even though there’s a lack of space in the tower, the recycling culture and craving for physical pieces kept technology from progressing to holograms or something similar. Homes are often piled with “bulky tech”, and can be traded or used for commissions at different hubs that focus on repurposing and upgrades. Scavengers are constantly bringing back pieces from the condemned levels to be used in new tech. Tattoo parlors will fight over new pieces they think can be used for new tattooing machines, since their current ones are… rugged at best.
New government mandates are turning the focus of corporate tech towards maintaining the health of the tower, so new science is exploring natural technology to boost farming and create a biotech to reinforce the walls, naturally filtering the air and keeping out pollution. Gas masks are a must for anyone living in the lower levels and sleeker versions have become a fashion statement in the upper class. Because masks cover so much of the face, people deck out their masks into wild designs that identify them amongst others .
Arts/Culture: The space constraints of Jisang Tower did, however, limit the spread of art. Seen as a waste of otherwise usable space, paintings/instruments/sculpture/the like are very rare. Art is instead shown through textiles and tattoos. Recycling old clothes led to a desire to experiment with different patterns and silhouettes, and clothing within the tower can be very unique and beautiful, and people dress very uniquely/personally. Colors and patterns are very muted from recycling and fading; fabrics can sometimes be redyed from vegetables contaminated/inedible from pollution, and embroidery is a popular use of leftover thread. Tattoos were previously considered taboo in South Korean culture, and that sense of underground art form still lingers in the atmosphere of the parlors throughout the levels, but citizens in Jisang Tower now decorate their bodies with art. The desire for a unique self within the overcrowded walls draws people to ink. Tattoo artists act as a guild that self-regulates the practice to maintain health of its patrons and avoid being shut down by the government. Tattoos are popular amongst the civilian class and some militia (though their tattoos are usually designed to be hidden by their uniform). Upper classes show their wealth with clothing in all one color and fabric, showing access to more select recycling. They are quick to take over a scavenging stall if someone brings back a solid piece of fabric or clothing.
Introduction
When waves of pollution and smog washed over South Korea from China, the city of Seoul started building up instead of out. KEA (Korea Energy Agency) started funding for Jisang-Eseo, a tower that would span city blocks and rise high above the waves of smog, built from a material that would filter out the pollution and keep its inhabitants safe. But years after the rest of Seoul is abandoned for Jisang Tower, the filtration KEA promised is starting to fail, and the lowest floors of the tower are becoming covered with smog from the outside. The city tower continues to try and build upwards, but the lost floors cause the ones above it to become increasingly crowded. The Megalithic city cannot build up forever.
Government
Government Strength: The government is a collection of mega corporations that co funded the building in the first place. In a tower that focuses on hyper consumerism and product placement, the government dissolves into a large industry of sorts. The previous Korean public government has faded and become heavily influenced by corporations during these growing concerns about space and pollution. It keeps a solid grip on the police and maintain social services such as the ever important recycling and space management. Unfortunately they don’t have the strongest grip over private smaller corporations or religious sects, often working as competition. As a whole it works as a sort of complex web of corporate industries working together, each taking their stake of resources and business in the tower. This works due to the fact that they can profit off almost anything from labor laws to green energy, using tax write offs from other companies and byproducts from pollution cleaning as profit. Laws are created from a board of conglomerates working together to keep best interests in mind for the collective population.
Rule of Law: Rule of law is very high in Jisang. Law enforcement maintain strict laws in order to keep the tower functional and stable. Patrols have become more common now that more people are forced to move upwards in order to crack down on protests and other conflicts the more cramped space has caused. They also are strict to enforce population laws, going out on routine patrols and listening for tips on families hiding extra children or for homosexual couples.
Social services: Social services are very high; they have to be in such a contained society. Recycling is one of the most important aspects of life in Jisang, from food, waste, water, broken machines or clothing to even bodies. Nothing is left unused. Clean water, heat and standard rations are provided for all citizens (although better food or goods must be purchased or bartered). Wifi is free as well (although access to certain information is unknowingly restricted). Libraries are few but regularly maintained and open to the public (again censored however). As long as one is a law abiding citizen, their needs, if not necessarily their comfort, are provided for.
Economics
Economic strength: Economy within the bubble society of Jisang Tower is almost a hoax. It’s very fragile because of all the wealth and power being held by the government and private companies, so if something were to fail, the economy of the tower could break apart. But these powerful groups feed off each other with their different roles in running the society, so it keeps everything in a rickety balance. The corporate run economy pays wages in currency and offers luxury goods, however most of the buying and selling occurs in a separate, bartering system in the lower levels. Because most necessities are provided by the government, “money” is only used to buy luxury goods that are often obscenely expensive. Anything else a person could want is brought in by scavengers who scour the condemned levels for anything left behind such as textiles, books, metals and other goods. These are then bartered for other goods amongst the citizens of the lower levels and occasionally the upper class as well.
Wealth distribution: With most of the power held by corporations (and in turn the government), money is almost entirely held by the higher ups. Wealth distribution is very low within the tower, and basic needs are provided to citizens by the government. The small amount of money citizens make from jobs is saved up for larger purchases, or more luxurious items (like rarer foods). Trade is usually centered around exchanging items, but for homebrewed tech (like commissions and experiments) and items in better condition, money is usually preferred. Civilians are paid a small wage for their occupation (ex farming), but the government justifies the low amount as being an allowance more than a living wage, because necessities are rationed out to everyone. Higher level, better paying jobs include scientists, server technicians, and corporate employees. These jobs usually hire from a pool of upper/middle class civilians, but if a low class citizen displays adept abilities, they can be recruited into better programs. They usually lose contact with their family because of the move to a physical higher level of the tower.
Agriculture and trade: Agriculture within the tower is makeshift at best. Because of the limited space and overpopulation, farming has been designed to grow on the walls of Jisang tower in soil tracks. This causes an overgrown look intermingled with technology to the levels because the plants spread very easily from their tracks to the surrounding buildings. Citizens don’t want to cut them back too much to risk losing precious food resources. Everything is recycled within the tower, including food scraps and waste to make fertilizer for the plants, and food for bioengineered worms that help to feed and pollinate the plants underneath the surface. Because space in the tower is limited, they do not raise animals for consumption. Instead, they are vegan, so the farmers grow a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, which provide all the nutrients that the citizens need. Trade is also influenced by this recycling culture, with a large emphasis on fixing and combining old and broken tech to make it new again instead of throwing things away. This leads to building materials, equipment, clothes, etc. to really be a makeup of old scraps. While in some cases it might not be immediately evident (for example, a more expensive piece of clothing would use recycled thread from other clothes to make new cloth), nothing is ever wasted. Because basic needs are rationed and provided, citizens barter different items to get things they want, an old coat for camera pieces, a power drill for a motherboard; to them, “nothing is trash and everything is treasure”. There are only so many goods and resources for trade in such a megalithic structure. In this way, many of the things that are traded are created or altered. Very quickly a society of artists and engineers emerged, utilitizing everything the could to make what someone else may deem valuable. Automated watering systems, mechanically and artistically customized filtration masks, Micro rocket mopeds, and extremely reused computers are all common place.
Social
Race: The people of Jisang are comprised of a several different races, due to the major migration of people across the world, which was a result of world-wide pollution. These races are primarily Asian (Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Filipino, and more), but there is also a sprinkling of Western people from countries in North and South America. Equality amongst the races is good enough, though the people of Western descent are seen more as outsiders than those of Asian decent. Racism is still present but people are more inclined to keep their opinions behind close doors and instead take their grief out on people, especially if they are moving into their space. The culture as a whole is a large melting pot of people as Korea slowly became a major technological spearhead as it neared the end of the century and businesses flocked to it from all over the world.
Class: There are basic three classes structure in Jisang: lower class, middle class, and upper class. The poor are forced to live amongst the lower floors of Jisang Tower and are more susceptible to illness because of the pollution on the ground. This class is also the main consumers of air filters and breathing masks. These masks usually lead to a wild variety of styles and color as they accept the use of the mask and try to tailor them to make a statement. The middle class lives amongst the middle tier of the tower, usually the craftsmen and women have workshops and small storefronts here. All of the main shopping districts are set in the middle tower. As expected, the rich live on the top floors, with much larger living spaces. Issues have risen, though, as the classes are being forced to move higher up the tower to avoid pollution. This is causing strife amongst the classes. Those born into the lower classes often find it difficult to find safe, well-paying jobs making it difficult to move upwards both financially and literally. In this way many people are known to take space by gambling, slander, or even force. The militias that exist to protect and serve the section that they are assigned to are in place to keep this from happening, and ultimately let those on lower floors, stay on lower floors. However they are known to be often swayed by money.
Gender: Women are expected and mandated to have children in order to keep Jisang’s population stable. Their main role in society. Contraceptives are provided by the government to keep the population under control. With a female deity, the role of a woman as a caretaker is idealized and further mandated. If the Mother represents the ideal being, and more specifically the ideal female, then women are further pressured into striving to meet child requirements (1-2 children) and providing for her family. Other jobs aren’t necessarily restricted by gender (for example: farming, construction, tech building, clothes making), but women are encouraged to stick with “safer” occupations, where they aren’t at risk of getting hurt. Pollution is thought to be especially harmful to women and can render her barren.
Sexual Orientation: In Jisang, population control is very important, and so, same-sex relationships are considered taboo because they are not compatible with the need for specific population constraints. Using AFTER, and natural medical causes of death, there are convenient methods of trimming out older populations, but young couples are encouraged to only have about one to two children. Arranged marriages are common place, not explicitly for eugenics (like smarter, faster, stronger etc kids), but some families try to pair to encourage smarter kids, with the opportunity to move up in society.. Homosexuality is punishable by law and often with violence.
Cultural
Military: Military, as far as the citizens are aware, extends to only the police that keep the peace within the tower. They regulate ration distribution, keep citizens out of polluted sectors, settle disputes, stifle protests, etc. They’re a quiet but strict presence, and the citizens know not to cross them, or risk severe repercussions. If a criminal is found out, the military takes care of them and they simply disappear. The exact punishment is unknown, but that fuels the fear. Ultimately though, the military has the government/corporations interests at heart, and seek to prevent any disruption to the balance of the tower’s power dynamic. The isolation of Jisang Tower in the clouds of pollution covering South Korea prevent a majority of physical contact with outside cities and countries. Military parties are sent on missions/outings outside the tower to facilitate trade and supplies that can’t be produced within the tower. They send out and bring back new technology to be used by the companies within the tower to keep innovation moving, and to try and solve the issue of pollution seeping into the tower.
Religion: South Korea, before Jisang Tower, featured a mix of religions including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, and other native sects. When the tower was formed, the lines separating different core values of each religion faded and began to blend together. Then, Mantra Corporation introduced Eomeoni, the Mother, and further brought the religious blend together. The Mother as a deity has three core roles: the Mother brings life, the Mother provides, and the Mother is with you when you pass. The Mother is female in nature (and spirit?), but is ultimately a digital god with no gender, opening her up to fulfill different personal needs when seeking religion. Her introduction coincided with the launch of Mantra Corp’s server AFTER, where one can join the afterlife and be reunited with the Mother. It works by uploading the citizen’s soul to the server, where they are then free from the burdens of life on Earth. Within AFTER, the uploaded civilian works directly with the Mother, like living in a monastery or nunnery. Their family is then sent monthly wages for the person’s devotion, along with occasional message from their loved one. AFTER is open to anyone and is seen as a way to provide for one’s family, guaranteeing they’ll have some consistent income (and the opportunity for a better life), but advertising is primarily directed towards individuals over 50, who have a harder time working jobs. Some couples choose to go up in pairs, as a romantic and poetic final moment together.
The mysterious and ethereal sanctuary of the afterlife concept hides the real purpose of AFTER; civilians think they’re going to utopia, but really their uploaded “souls”, or brainpower/subconscious, are used in a giant supercomputer. The servers function in a “data-mining” plan, helping to make money and power for the tower. It also acts as a memory bank that provides data on human minds that is sold by _ Corp to outside countries that is used for science and technology development. Every few years, the AFTER servers change the variable it’s testing within its souls in order to constantly provide new data and not become obsolete. The server itself is becoming outdated; its original inventors have since passed and the knowledge of how to upgrade AFTER has been lost. Mantra Corp is wary of trying experimental upgrades for fear of losing their entire project. Because of the server’s age, the way it catalogues civilians has its shortcomings; it uses male/female, married/single, age, and race, along with some smaller categories (like IQ and appearance), but doesn’t work with labels outside the gender binary and heterosexuality. This is part of the reason why the government is strict on gender restrictions and homosexuality.Even though the motives of Mantra Corp are questionable at best, citizens haven’t begun questioning it in mass. There are whispers of the possible conspiracies and dark purpose of the server, but many are blinded by its promise, and its relative newness keeps it in mystery. Some small groups have begun trying to hack into the server to see the afterlife for themselves, without a contract.
Tech: Technology within Jisang tower is a mix between stark and sleek new innovations from private companies, and homebrew tech built in the homes of citizens out of any bits they can get their hands on. Even though there’s a lack of space in the tower, the recycling culture and craving for physical pieces kept technology from progressing to holograms or something similar. Homes are often piled with “bulky tech”, and can be traded or used for commissions at different hubs that focus on repurposing and upgrades. Scavengers are constantly bringing back pieces from the condemned levels to be used in new tech. Tattoo parlors will fight over new pieces they think can be used for new tattooing machines, since their current ones are… rugged at best.
New government mandates are turning the focus of corporate tech towards maintaining the health of the tower, so new science is exploring natural technology to boost farming and create a biotech to reinforce the walls, naturally filtering the air and keeping out pollution. Gas masks are a must for anyone living in the lower levels and sleeker versions have become a fashion statement in the upper class. Because masks cover so much of the face, people deck out their masks into wild designs that identify them amongst others .Arts/Culture: The space constraints of Jisang Tower did, however, limit the spread of art. Seen as a waste of otherwise usable space, paintings/instruments/sculpture/the like are very rare. Art is instead shown through textiles and tattoos. Recycling old clothes led to a desire to experiment with different patterns and silhouettes, and clothing within the tower can be very unique and beautiful, and people dress very uniquely/personally. Colors and patterns are very muted from recycling and fading; fabrics can sometimes be redyed from vegetables contaminated/inedible from pollution, and embroidery is a popular use of leftover thread. Tattoos were previously considered taboo in South Korean culture, and that sense of underground art form still lingers in the atmosphere of the parlors throughout the levels, but citizens in Jisang Tower now decorate their bodies with art. The desire for a unique self within the overcrowded walls draws people to ink. Tattoo artists act as a guild that self-regulates the practice to maintain health of its patrons and avoid being shut down by the government. Tattoos are popular amongst the civilian class and some militia (though their tattoos are usually designed to be hidden by their uniform). Upper classes show their wealth with clothing in all one color and fabric, showing access to more select recycling. They are quick to take over a scavenging stall if someone brings back a solid piece of fabric or clothing.